Finally ...

Eagle I

Eagle I

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
415
Location
Rhode Island
Display Name
Kat
Home Airfield
7B2
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
 
You only have to be safe to pass a checkride, not perfect. Greasing is only required for a soft field landing.
 
Eagle I said:
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
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Knees shake post-flight?
 
That's good to know, because perfect I'm not! Although I still have plenty of time to work on that. It just felt good to finally get over that pre-solo hurdle.
 
Yes. The instructor removed the training wheels, and you should expect to respond according to that.

Congratulations.
 
It's kind of weird how the knee-shaking doesn't start until after you've landed, and then reality sets in. Oh my God, I just flew a plane all by myself!:hairraise: I assume that reaction diminishes on subsequent solos.:)
 
That's awesome!!! Congrats!! I knew if you just stuck with it, it would happen. Nice work! Now comes the fun parts. :D:D:D
 
Eagle I said:
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
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Congrats share with Us how many hours what what happening for instance i had a huge problem with my flare even though my approaches where always very good !
 
4/8/2013 will be a date you sure won't ever forget! Congrats and keep up the good work and motivation!
 
Thanks everyone for the congratulations, and your tips and encouragement along the way. And maybe I'll post a more detailed report later. But right now I have to go to work and earn some more Aviation Units for the cross-country portion of my training.:D
 
Congrats!!!!

I still carry the torn off and decorated piece of my t-shirt in a sandwich baggie in my flight bag....

Your CFI DID cut off a piece of the back of your shirt to commemorate your solo, yes?????
 
Congratulations! I still have the cut up shirt from mine, and the smile I had when i jumped out after took about a week to go away. Starts all over again after your solo XC. Looking forward to some more details on it.
 
Congrats! How many hours did it take you?

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II using Tapatalk 2
 
Eagle I said:
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
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Congratulations!

David
 
"Thousands" to solo???

What's become of this world?

Gratz all the same.
 
Captain said:
"Thousands" to solo???

What's become of this world?

Gratz all the same.
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Took me that much, but then again, I also took a 2 year hiatus from training before I finally started back up, soloed, and finished up.
 
Congratulations! Ask your Flight Instructor if was sweating beads while you were flying Solo.
 
Eagle I said:
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
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:rollercoaster:
 
Aviator1945 said:
Congrats share with Us how many hours what what happening for instance i had a huge problem with my flare even though my approaches where always very good !
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I had 55 hours total time before my solo, 40 of them in the plane I soloed in, a Flight Design CTLS. I started out in Warriors and Cherokees before deciding to go the sport pilot route. I've been told by numerous pilots who should know that the CTLS is not an easy plane to land. It just wants to keep on flying, and fast! I, too, have had problems with the flare, flaring too early. I've been trying to glance to the side once over the numbers to better judge the height, and that seems to help. The CTLS also has a very strange sight picture, so it also took me a lot of time to get used to that. But now that I've gotten over that hurdle, hopefully better days are ahead!
 
DutchessFlier said:
Congrats!!!!

I still carry the torn off and decorated piece of my t-shirt in a sandwich baggie in my flight bag....

Your CFI DID cut off a piece of the back of your shirt to commemorate your solo, yes?????
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What a great story! No, my CFI didn't cut off a piece of my shirt, which is probably just as well, since it's one of my nicer shirts.:) Although considering how long and hard I've worked to get to that stage, I probably wouldn't have minded at that point!
 
Captain said:
"Thousands" to solo???

What's become of this world?

Gratz all the same.
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Oh, the stories I could tell! But I'll tell you just this one, which is sort of symbolic of the rocky start my flight training got off to. For my first four lessons (and this was in a Warrior), my instructor would handle ALL the takeoff and landing duties, including the radio. After climbing out, he would then hand over the controls and we'd go maneuver around the practice area for a bit. And I thought this was normal, because I didn't know any better.:nonod: So those four lessons cost me $1,000, and I didn't learn a whole lot. I switched schools and things got better, at least until I discovered the place was a revolving door for CFIs and the planes (Cherokees) were barely airworthy.
 
Eagle I said:
,,, after three different flight schools, three different planes, six CFIs, and many more thousands of dollars than I care to count, I soloed!!! Yeah, I wish I could post a detailed account of my greased landings, but I can't. The important thing is, I finally did it. OK, carry on.:D
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Congratulations on the solo. It's one part of your flying life you will never forget.:rockon:
 
Way to go Eagle! Congrats. Keep it up
 
Eagle I said:
I had 55 hours total time before my solo, 40 of them in the plane I soloed in, a Flight Design CTLS. I started out in Warriors and Cherokees before deciding to go the sport pilot route. I've been told by numerous pilots who should know that the CTLS is not an easy plane to land. It just wants to keep on flying, and fast! I, too, have had problems with the flare, flaring too early. I've been trying to glance to the side once over the numbers to better judge the height, and that seems to help. The CTLS also has a very strange sight picture, so it also took me a lot of time to get used to that. But now that I've gotten over that hurdle, hopefully better days are ahead!
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I train students in both a Jabiru light sport, a C-150 and a Cherokee 140. The Jabiru is definitely the more challenging of the three when it comes to landings, so they usually take more hours to get to solo. But those who learn in it KNOW what those two pedals on the floor do and they use them!

Congrats!
 
LDJones said:
I train students in both a Jabiru light sport, a C-150 and a Cherokee 140. The Jabiru is definitely the more challenging of the three when it comes to landings, so they usually take more hours to get to solo. But those who learn in it KNOW what those two pedals on the floor do and they use them!

Congrats!
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Thanks! Yeah, sometimes I feel like I'm using my feet almost as much as my hands.
 
eman1200 said:
Whatchoo talkin bout, Willis?!?! :yikes:
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By that I assume you mean you think that's a lot? I just went and checked my receipts, just to make sure I wasn't imagining it. The total was just a little shy of $1,000 actually. The bills ranged from $232 to $246 each lesson. The breakdown was something like this:

$162 for 1.2 hours in the Warrior
$72 for 1.2 hours of the instructor's time, at $60 an hour
$12 for .2 hours of ground instruction

The rates are actually fairly typical for this area. And I wouldn't have minded so much if those four lessons had been really productive, instead of leaving me with the feeling that the instructor was just having fun on my dime.:rolleyes2:
 
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